Hood



Nov. 11, 1941. w P, Wm H AL 2 2,262,522

HOOD

Filed Nov. 24, 1939 FIG. I. FIG. 2.

INVENTOR.

WILL/AM P. YANT Patented Nov; 11, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HOOD William P. Yant and Kenneth B. Bay,

Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application November 24, 1939, Serial No. 305,848

Claims. (CL 128-143) I This invention relates to a safety hood or helmet and more particularly to an inexpensive hoodwhich is adaptable, especially for use in atmospheres containing gases, dusts, fumes or mists, and to a method of making same.

In many industrial operations, it is necessary for a worker to be employed in a contaminated atmosphere, such .as in an atmosphere having suspended mists or vapors and which deposit on lenses or shields to impair vision. 'Heretofore, hoods and masks of many types have been used, but in each instance it has been necessary to employ shields or lenses, either of glass or transparent material, to cover and protect the eyes, and this has met with objection because of the need and difiiculty to remove frequently deposits from the atmosphere on the surface of the lenses. Some attempts have been made to supply air to vision apertures in a hood, but each has proven to be ineffective or harmful to the eyes of a wearer.

It is a principal object of this invention provide a safety hood having a means which improves visibility in a contaminated atmosphere.

Another object of this invention is to provide a lightweight, collapsible, fluid impervious, head covering having a means for introducing resfpirable air thereinto and also having vision means utilizing respirable air whereby the hood is adapted, particularly, to use in fluid-laden or otherwise contaminated atmospheres.

fa ls a further object of this invention to provide-a hood which is effective in utilizing air under pressure, suitable for respiratory purposes, to effectively remove or displace laden or otherwisecontaminated atmosphere about the vicinity of vision apertures in a hood.

Itis a further object of this invention to providean inexpensive, easily mountable and comfortable safety hood usable in contaminated atpiece construction which is attached to a head covering; 1

Fig. 7 is a layout of material for making a hood or head covering and with which the hood can be formed by joining the edges;

Fig. 8 is a view of a modification of the embodiment of the invention as heretofore illustrated;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 of Fig. 8. i

Preferably, the hood l is made of transparent material such as the cellulose or rubber derivative materials which are fluid impervious and collapsible. In the manufacture of the hood, a flat sheet layout, illustrated in Fig. 7, is made and has lateral side portions 3 and l shaped in a manner so that, when formed into a hood, they define an inner space which allows the hood to fit closely but in spaced relation to the head of a wearer when the hood is in. expanded condition.

, The head covering or hood is formed by folding the lateral sides 3 and 4 upon themselves and then joining the edges as by sewing or other means so'that a fluid-tight joint is provided. Generally, the hood I is made sufliciently long to extend beiow'the head of a wearer. At the loweredge a yieldable means 5, such as an elastic band, is attached to the hood material and is capable of enclosing the hood about the head to retain respirable air to be introduced therein, although it is preferred that the engagement be loose enough so that a limited amount of respirable air will pass from the hood at this location to eliminate irritation to the wearer.

hood I is provided, preferably before the hood is formed, with an opening for vision purposes which may be either a single opening l4 or two passages therebetween, Figs. 1 and 2, also remospheres wherein dust, fumes or mists are conduces materially paratu's.

Attached to the face portion is a mask or facepiece construction It, illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, and shown in position in Figures 1, 2 and 3. The mask must be made of a relatively unyielding material, as canvas or duck, and containing two spaced vision apertures 8 and 9, and, also, having a headband ill integral with or attached to the lateral edges of the mask so that the facepiece or mask can'be tightly drawn about the face of a wearer. It is advisable to add to the inside surface of the unyielding material a discomfort in wearing such ap- Flgures 5 and 6 are illustrative views of a face- Ni layer ii of soft cotton fabric, Fig. 5, which is to I The forward or face portion of the head covering or engage the face of the wearer, to reduce chaflqng and irritation of the face of the wearer. N

The length of the mask, as indicated by the dimension L, Fig. 5, is made to cover only the upper extremity of the nose. Due to this ar rangement and to the character of the material, when the mask is tightly drawn about the face, passages Figures 5 and 6. are formed between the face and the mask and intermediate the nose and the vision apertures 8 and 9. It is recognized that other means can be provided for fluidly connecting the interior of the hood to the vision apertures. In applying the mask l3 to the hood I, it is positioned to overlie the opening ll, Fig. 7, within the forward or face portion 2 of the material and is bound thereto as by sewing the mask, illustrated as having an inner layer 33 and an outer layer 3| of material with the hood material therebetween, adjacent the edges of the mask so that a fluid-tight joint is provided in attaching the mask to the head covering, and without interfering with the use of the headband I.

At the rearward side of the hood an opening I6 is provided to accommodate a tube entering therethrough and extending upwardly along the back or rearward side as illustrated in Figures 1 and 3. A sealing means, not shown, may be used to seal the tube and the hood material. The tube I! is clipped or fastened to the hood material by a resilient clamp l9. This tube is to be connected to a source of respirable air. A feature of the hood is that the collapsible hood acts as an air reservoir, and, on inhalation or deep breathing, the hood itself will collapse to some extent before contaminated air is drawn from the outside, but it is desirable that the respirable air be introduced at a rate sufficient to maintain the hood in an expanded condition during all phases of breathing.

In the use of our hood, the facepiece I3 is first applied to the wearer. Then the hood I is drawn over the head and engages about the wearer so as to provide a substantially fluid-tight covering except for the vision openings 8 and 9 in the mask. The tube I1 is connected to a source of respirable air which is at a pressure slightly greater than atmosphere and a valve operable by the wearer controls the fiow of air into the hood. The air being introduced into the hood causes the hood to expand and space itself in certain locations from the head of the wearer. By such expansion, the air introduced into the hood flows toward the forward or face portion and is then used for respiration, Figures 1 and 2. Also by the arrangement of the mask and its laterally extending eye portions having the vision apertures 8 and 9, passages II are formed connecting the apertures to the interior of the hood and to the source of air. These apertures are made of a size whereby the extremity of each piece defining each opening extends as close as possible to the eye of the wearer without impeding normal vision.

Air flowing through the vision apertures removes and displaces effectively fluid-laden or contaminated atmosphere adjacent and about the vicinity of the wearer because the limited size of the vision apertures 8 and 9 causes the air at ordinary respirable pressures to flow at an adequate velocity to displace the laden air about the face portion of the hood and a curtain of uncontaminated air is established which is not penetrated by foreign matter and even though it may be moving at relatively high velocity. The

larger the vision apertures, the lower the velocity of air discharged from the interior of the hood and the less effective the discharged air in clearing the atmosphere. It is possible by this arrangement to establish a curtain of air of substantial depth so as to be sufficient to accommodate the needs of a worker engaged in the spraying of paint or other liquids on to an object, such as in the manufacture of automobiles and like articles. It is apparent that these conditions are about the most extreme to be encountered by a worker employed in any fluid-laden or contaminated atmospheres. By this apparatus, respirable air is utilized at slightly above atmospheric pressure and is effective to provide the necessary vision curtain about the eyes of the wearer, and a very limited amount of air is necessary to establish a clearing of vision and maintain a curtain with the result that little discomfort is caused to a wearer and the apparatus can be operated economically.

To reduce or substantially eliminate any irritation to the eyes which might occur by the use of the heretofore described embodiment, the outer layer of material 3| is arranged in a loose manner over the surface of the inner layer 33, Figures 8 and 9, so that air can pass between the layers to the eye apertures 8 and 9 of the outer layer. The layers are connected to the hood by attaching the inner layer 33 to an inner surface of the hood adjacent the vision openings and the outer layer 3| to the outer surface, but the attachment of the inner layer is to be made so that air from within the hood may pass to the apertures in the layers by passing between the layers of the mask I3. If the layers 3| and 33 are sewed to the hood, the inner layer 33 can be stitched in such a manner to provide air passages and the outer layer 3| stitched tightly to seal off the interior of the hood from the atmosphere. Also, it is suggested that the vision apertures in the outer layer be made so that the inner layer extends to provide a projection 32. This projection acts as a baiile to the air passing between the layers when the mask I3 is applied to the face of the wearer, Figures 8 and 9, and thus prevents materially this air from contacting the eyes of the wearer. If the contamination of the air is not great and the velocity of the foreign matter relatively low, the vision apertures 8 and 3 of the inner layer may be covered by a transparent covering, thus cutting off the flow of air through the passages formed between the face and the inner layer.

An arrangement may be made of this embodiment wherein the layer of mask material 33 is connected to the inner surface so that air may pass through the connection and between the mask and the hood. The face portion of the hood has spaced vision apertures of a size larger than the vision apertures in the layer 33 to provide a baflie such as 32, Figures 8 and 9. In operation, the air passes through the connection of the layer 33 of the mask to the hood material and thence between the hood material and the mask to the vision apertures whereupon it is deflected outwardly by the baflle into the immediate vicinity to provide vision in a contaminated atmosphere.

It is apparent that many modifications of our invention may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, and it is intended that the invention be not limited except by the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A hood comprising a flexible head covering, means connected to the covering to enclose the covering about the head of a wearer, a facepiece of flexible and relatively unyielding material having a central nose portion and laterally spacedvision apertures therein and integral with the head covering, a means connected to the lateral extremities of the facepiece and engageable with the head of the wearer to draw the facepiece against the face of the wearer, said facepiece in wearing position providing air passages connecting the vision apertures with the interior of the covering, and means to introduce respirable air into the interior of the hood.

2. A safetyhood comprising a flexible head covering, resilient means connected to the covering to enclose the covering about the head of a wearer, a separable facepiece of flexible and relatively unyielding material having a central nose portion and laterally spaced vision apertures therein and attached to the head covering, a means connected to the lateral extremities of the facepiece and engageable with the head of the wearer to draw the facepiece against the face of the wearer, and said facepiece being adapted, when mounted on the face of a wearer, to'form air passages between the face of the wearer and the facepiece fluidly connecting the vision apertures to the interior of the covering, and means connectable to a source of respirable air to introduce air into the interior of the hood whereby respirable air passing through the hood and discharged from the vision apertures has a velocity suflicient to move contaminated air from an immediate vicinity.

3. A hood comprising a collapsible, substantially fluid-proof head covering extending downwardly from a crown portion to engage the body of a wearer about the lower extremity of the head, a yieldable means connected to the covering at its lower extremity to enclose the covering about the head of the wearer, a flat facepiece of flexible and relatively unyielding material attached to the head covering and having a central nose portion and laterally spaced vision apertures therein, said apertures being of a limited size whereby each extremity of the facepiece defining each opening extends as close as possible to the eye of the wearer without impeding normal vision of the wearer, a means connected to the lateral extremities of the facepiece and engageable with the head of the wearer to draw the facepiece against the face of the wearer, said facepiece forming air passages therethrough between the face of a wearer and the facepiece and connecting the vision apertures with the interior of the covering whereby air introduced into the head covering is discharged at a predetermined velocity through said vision apertures, and means to introduce respirable air into the interior of the hood for respirable and vision purposes.

4. A hood comprising a collapsible, substantially fluid-proof head covering extending downwardly from a crown portion to engage the body of a .wearer about the head, a yieldable means connected to the covering at the lower extremity to enclose the covering about the head of the wearer, the hood including a flat facepiece of flexible and relatively unyielding material having a central nose portion and laterally spaced vision apertures therein, said apertures being of a size whereby each extremity of the facepiece defining each opening extends as close as possible to the eye of the wearer without impeding normal vision of the wearer, a means connected to the lateral extremities of the facepiece and engageable with the head of the wearer to draw the facepiece against the face of the wearer, a layer of comfort material connected to the unyielding'layer and to engage the face of a wearer, the facepiece being adapted to form air passages intermediate the nose and eye portions and between the face and comfort layer of s the facepiece when it is drawn against the face of the wearer whereby air introduced into the head covering is discharged at a predetermined velocity through said vision apertures, and means to introduce respirable air under a limited pressure into the interior of the hood.

5. A safety hood comprising a collapsible, transparent, substantially fluid-proof head covering and having a vision opening therein, a facepiece of flexible and relatively unyielding material applied to the inside surface of the face portion of the head covering to overlie the opening therein and attached to the covering in such a manner whereby air may pass between the head covering and facepiece, the facepiece including a nose portlon and laterally extending eye portions with vision openings therein connected to the opening in the head covering and of a predetermined size whereby each extremity of the facepiece defining each vision opening extends as close as possible to the eye of the wearer without interfering substantially with normal vision of the wearer, a means inside the head covering and connected to lateral extremities of the facepiece and engageablev with the head of the wearer to draw the facepiece against the face of the wearer, a source of respirable air connected to the head covering, the vision opening in the head covering being larger than the openings in the facepiece to provide an air baflie of a peripheral portion of the material of the facepiece whereby air passing between the head covering and faoepiece to the vision opening in the head covering is deflected outwardly therefrom to effectively remove laden atmospheric air from the immediate vicinity in and about the eyes of the wearer and without causing appreciable discomfort to the wearer.

6. A hood comprising a collapsible, transparent, substantially fluid-proof head covering and having a pair of vision openings therein, a facepiece of flexible and relatively unyielding material overlying the openings applied to the inside surface of the face portion of the head covering and attached to the inside of the covering in a manner whereby air may pass between the facepiece and head covering, the f-acepiece having a nose portion and laterally extending eye portions with vision openings therein and communicative with the openings in the head covering and of a predeterm'med size whereby each extremity of the facepi'ece defining each vision opening extends as close as possible to the eye of the wearer without interfering substantially with normal vision of the wearer, a means inside the head covering and connected to lateral extremities of the facepiece and engageable with the head of the wearer to draw the facepiece against the face of the wearer, the vision openings in the head covering being larger than the openings in the facepiece to provide an air baflle whereby air passing between the facepiece and head covering is deflected outwardly through the openings in the head covering, said facepiece being adapted that when drawn against the face of the wearer to form air passages intermediate the nose and eye portions and connecting the eye openings to the interior of the head covering, whereby air introduced into the head covering may pass through the passages to effectively form and maintain in cooperation with the air passing f'"between the facepiece and head covering an air "curtain in the immediate vicinity in and about the eyes of the wearer and without causing appreciable discomfort to the wearer and a means to introduce air into the head covering.

7. A hood comprising a collapsible, transparent, substantially fluid-proof head covering of sufficient length to enable the covering to engage the body of the wearer below the head and having an opening in the face portion of the hood, a yieldable means operatively connected to the covering at its lower extremity to enclose the covering about the head of the wearer, a facepiece of flexible and relatively unyielding material integral with the face portion of the facepiece and overlying the opening therein and attached to the inside surface whereby air may pass therethrough, the facepiece having a nose portion and laterally extending eye portions, an outer layer of flexible material attached to the outer surface of the face portion of the hood and arranged loosely over the surface of the facepiece to define air passages between the layers, said outer layer having vision apertures therein, a means inside the hood and connected to lateral extremities of the facepiece and engageable with the head of the wearer to draw the facepiece against the face of the wearer, whereby air passing between the layers is deflected outwardly through the vision apertures in the outer layer, a source of respirable air connected to the rearward side of said hood, whereby air introduced into the head covering is discharged through the vision apertures to effectively refluid impervious fabric material overlying the opening in the face portion and attached in a predetermined manner to the inside surface of the covering whereby air passes therethrough, said facepiece including a central nose portion and connected laterally extending eye portions with vision apertures overlying the opening in the face portion and of a predetermined size whereby the extremity of the facepiece defining each aperture extends as close as possible to the lateral eye extremity of the wearer and without interfering with the vision of the wearer, an outer layer of material attached to the head covering and having vision apertures communicative with the apertures of the facepiece, the facepiece and outer layer being arranged in a loose manner so that air may pass between the layers, the vision apertures of the outer layer providing an exposed surface of the facepiece to deflect outwardly air passing between the layers, a means connected to the lateral extremities of the facepiece and engageable with the head of the wearer to draw the facepiece against the face of the wearer, and means to introduce respirable air into the head covering whereby air within the covering is discharged from the hood through the-vision apertures to effectively displace contaminated atmosphere about the vision apertures.

9. A hood comprising a collapsible, transparent substantially fluid-proof covering of sumcient length to enable the covering to engage a wearer about the neck and having an outlet opening in the face portion of the hood, a yieldable means operatively connected to the covering at its lower extremity to enclose the covering about the head of the wearer, a facepiece of flat fluid impervious fabric material overlying the opening in the face portion and attached in a manner to the inside surface of the covering whereby air may pass therethrough, said facepiece including a central nose portion and connected laterally extending eye portions with vision apertures overlying the opening in the face portion and of a predetermined size whereby the extremity of the facepiece defining each aperture extends as close as possible to the lateral eye extremity of the wearer and without interfering with the vision of the wearer, an outer layer of material attached to the head covering and having vision apertures communicative with the apertures of the facepiece, the facepiece and outer layer being arranged in a loose manner so that air may pass between the layers, the apertures of the outer layer providing an exposed surface of the facepiece to deflect outwardly air passing between the layers, a means connected to the lateral extremities of the facepiece and engageable with the head of the wearer to draw the facepiece against the face of the wearer, whereby passages are formed between the facepiece and the face of a wearer and intermediate the nose and eye portions and connected to the vision apertures, and means to introduce respirable air into the head covering whereby air within the covering is discharged from the hood through the vision apertures to effectively displace contaminated atmosphere about the vision apertures.

10. A safety hood comprising a single layer of collapsible, transparent substantially fluid-proof covering of sufiicient length to enable the covering to engage a wearer about the neck and having a facepiece opening in the face portion of the hood, a yieldable means operatively connected to the covering atits lower extremity to sub stantially fluidly enclose the covering about the head of the wearer, a facepiece of flat canvas material overlying the opening in the face portion and attached to the inside surface of the hood adjacent its peripheral edges so that air may pass therethrough, said facepiece including a nose portion and connected laterally extending eye portions with vision apertures overlying the opening in the face portion, said apertures being of a predetermined size whereby the extremity of the facepiece, defining each aperture extends as close aspossible to the lateral eye extremity of the wearer without interfering with the vision of the wearer, an outer layer of canvas material having vision apertures overlying the opening in the face portion of the hood and of a size to expose the inner portion of the facepiece and attached to the outside surface of the hood to form a fluid-tight joint, a headband connected to the lateral extremities of the facepiece and engageable with the head of the wearer to draw the facepiece against the face of the wearer, the outer layer being arranged loosely over the facepiece so that air may pass between the facepiece and the outer layer to the vision apertures, the canvas material of the facepiece being of a character to form air passages between the material and the face of a wearer and intermediate the nose and eye portion and connected to the vision apertures, and means for introducing respirable air into the head covering whereby air introduced into the hood is discharged through the vision apertures to efiectively displace contaminated atmosphere about the vision apertures and without causing appreciable discomfort to a 5 wearer. 

